The present invention relates to a surgical reamer in the form of a cap of circular section equipped with arms extending radially from the circular edge of the reamer toward the axis of the reamer for its attachment to a reamer spindle.
A reamer of this type is known from Patent Application EP 0,704,191, the content of which is incorporated by reference, in the name of the applicant. In this document, the cap is hemispherical and equipped with four arms arranged in a cross for the bayonet-type attachment of the reamer to a reamer spindle. The cap may be of non-spherical shape, especially conical shape. These reamers are produced with various diameters, the diameter being selected as needed. For their sterilization, the reamers are suspended with the apex of the cap facing downward. However, the diameter of the reamer is indicated on the outer surface of the cap, which makes it necessary to handle the reamer and turn it upward in order to read its diameter and so find the reamer required.
The object of the present invention is to allow easy reading of the diameter of the reamer or any other information without it being necessary to handle the reamer and turn it upward.
The surgical reamer according to the invention is a reamer comprising a central disk arranged parallel to the attachment arms and to which said arms are attached, said disk being intended to display an item of information, in particular the diameter of the reamer.
The disk is preferably circular but it could equally well be of any other shape.
The radial arms can conveniently be solidly attached to the disk, in particular by being embedded therein, so that the disk in no way weakens the attachment of the reamer to its reamer spindle. The protruding length of the radial arms is in all cases entirely sufficient for the attachment of the reamer to the reamer spindle, whether this is a reamer spindle as described in Patent Application EP 0,704,191 or another reamer spindle, for example a reamer spindle as described in Patent FR 2,281,095, the content of which is incorporated by reference.
The strength of the attachment of the reamer to its reamer spindle is not affected by the disk, and indeed the latter may increase this strength.